Former
President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday denied calling for a revolution in
Nigeria. Reacting to reports quoting him as saying that a revolution was
imminent in the country, the former president said he was misquoted as he never
made such comment. He said: “The person saying I talked about revolution taking
place in Nigeria is talking nonsense; he doesn’t understand English.
“What I said was that as long as we do
not pay adequate attention to solving the problem of unemployment, we are all
sitting on a keg of gun powder. And it is a tickling time-bomb. All of us must
realise that it is a serious problem. Our leaders must pay attention to this
issue.
“That is not revolution. I never used
the word revolution. Unemployment is a continental problem and indeed a global
problem.
If a state can have over 50 per cent
of its population as unemployed, it is a major problem that needs serious
attention. “I didn’t mention revolution in my speech. Who will write a cheque
for us in Africa?
Asked to clarify whether he spoke
about a revolution happening in Nigeria, he said: “I didn’t. And that is not
what I want for Nigeria. What I want for Nigeria is job creation for the youth
not revolution.” Obasanjo was said to have predicted that a revolution loomed
in Nigeria unless the government took urgent step to arrest youth unemployment
and poverty.
The prediction was reportedly made at
the weekend in a speech at a West African regional conference on youth
employment in Senegal. Meanwhile, former President Obasanjo has asked political
parties to do more in enforcing party discipline, proper implementation of
their manifestoes, service delivery and national integration in their quest for
power acquisition. Obasanjo spoke yesterday in Abuja as chairman of the first
session of a two-day roundtable conference on “Party Politics and Election in
Nigeria,” organised by the National Institute of Legislative Studies (NILS).
Source: National Mirror
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